PODCAST

May 30th, 2011

An evangelist once told me that when a seatmate on a flight would inevitably ask what he did for a living he tried saying, “I sell fire insurance.” When I finished laughing he added, “I soon found out they weren’t anymore excited about sitting next to an insurance salesman than an evangelist!”

The apostle Paul introduces himself briefly to the Romans (v. 1). This is followed by a much longer introduction of “Jesus Christ our Lord” (v. 4).

After all it is Jesus who embodies the gospel. Jesus is the one who possesses both a “human nature” (v. 3) and is also declared by the Spirit of holiness “to be the Son of God” (v. 4). It is Jesus who was raised from the dead for our salvation. It is Jesus who, along with the Father, gives grace and peace to those who receive him by faith.

It is sometimes embarrassing how concerned we Christians can be with how we are perceived by the world. What will matter for eternity is what we all think, or more properly, believe about Jesus.